De odoribus

ἐν ἅπασι δ᾿ ἐστὶν ἡ τοῦ σαπροῦ κακωδία καὶ ἐν φυτοῖς καὶ ἐν ζώοις καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἀψύχοις· ἐν ἅπασι δὲ διαφθειρομένοις ὧν μὴ ἡ σύστασις εὐθὺς ἐκ τοιαύτης ὕλης· ἔχει γὰρ ἔνια καὶ τὴν τῆς ὕλης ὀσμήν, οὐ μὴν ἐπὶ πάντων γε τοῦτ᾿ ἀκολουθεῖ. πολλὰ γὰρ οὐ κακώδη τὰ ἐκ τῶν σαπρῶν, ὡς οὐδ᾿ οἱ μύκητες οἱ ἐκ τῆς κόπρου φυόμενοι· τὰ δ᾿ ἐκ σήψεως φυόμενα καὶ συνιστάμενα κακώδη. εὔοσμα μὲν οὖν ὡς ἀπλῶς εἰπεῖν τὰ πεπεμμένα καὶ λεπτὰ καὶ ἥκιστα γεώδη· τὸ γὰρ τῆς ὀσμῆς ἐν ἀναπνοῇ· κακώδη δὲ δηλονότι τἀναντία. πολλὰ δὲ ὥσπερ τῶν γλυκέων ἐμφαίνει τινὰ πικρότητα, καὶ τῶν εὐωδῶν βαρύτητα ταῖς ὀσμαῖς.

II. Ἔχει δὲ ἕκαστον ὀσμὴν ἰδίαν καὶ ζώων καὶ φυτῶν καὶ τῶν ἀψύχων ὅσα ὀσμώδη· πολλὰ [*](¹ And so here we have a term which possibly is applied only to the one class of ‘evil’ odours.) [*](2 Which is not an ‘evil’ odour.) [*](3 i.e. putridity is a quality which things acquire as they decay, and does not necessarily imply that they are them- selves formed out of decaying matter. In fact things so produced are not always ‘putrid. ’) [*](4 The sense is apparently that ‘lighter’ (or less solid) things exhale a lighter and pleasanter odour because in their)

Εἰσὶ μὲν οὖν ἔνιαι τῶν εὐόσμων καὶ ἐν ταῖς τροφαῖς, οἶον αἱ τῶν ἀκροδρύων καὶ ἀπίων καὶ μήλων· αὗται Φὰρ ἄνευ τῆς προσφορᾶς ἡδεῖαι, καὶ μᾶλλον ὡς εἰπεῖν. οὐ μὴν ἀλλ᾿ ὥς γ᾿ ἀπλῶς διελεῖν αἱ μέν εἰσι καθ᾿ αὑτὰς αἱ δὲ κατὰ συμβεβηκός· αἱ μὲν τῶν χυλῶν καὶ τῆς τροφῆς κατὰ συμβεβηκός, αἱ δ᾿ ὥσπερ τῶν ἀνθῶν καθ᾿ αὑτάς. ὡς δ᾿ ἐπίπαν τὰ εὔοσμα, καθάπερ καὶ πρότερον ἐλέχθη, δύσχυμα καὶ στρυφνὰ καὶ ὑπόπικρα. [*](¹ in Thrace. cf. Arist. H.A. 9. 36. Turn. quotes an illus- tration from Seriptor θαυμασίων ἀκουσμάτων 126.) [*](2 εὐωδίαις. ?εὐώδεσι.)

Ἐπεὶ δὲ τῶν ὀσμῶν αἱ μὲν ἐν φυτοῖς καὶ τοῖς τούτων μορίοις, οἷον κλωσὶ φύλλοις φλοιοῖς καρποῖς δακρύοις, αἱ δὲ ὥσπερ διείλομεν ἐν ζώοις καὶ φυτοῖς καὶ τοῖς ἀψύχοις, αὗται μὲν φανερὸν ὅτι πέψιν ἕκασται λαμβάνουσιν ἐν τοῖς οἰκείοις αἷς· καὶ τὸ εὐῶδες καὶ κακῶδες ἀκολουθεῖ κατὰ τὰς οἰκείας φύσεις, ἡ δὲ πέψις τῷ οἰκείῳ θερμῷ. ἐν δὲ τοῖς ἀψύχοις ταῖς τῶν ἁπλῶν δυνάμεσι καὶ γίνονται καὶ μεθίστανται καθάπερ οἱ χυμοί.

III. Ὅσαι δὲ δὴ κατὰ τέχνην καὶ ἐπίνοιαν γίνονται περὶ τούτων πειρατέον εἰπεῖν ὥσπερ καὶ περὶ τῶν χυλῶν. ἐν ἀμφοῖν δὲ δῆλον ὡς ἀεὶ πρὸς τὸ βὲλτιον ἦν ἡμῖν ἡ ἀναφορά· πᾶσα γὰρ τέχνη στοχάζεται τούτου. εἰσὶ μὲν οὖν καὶ τοῖς ἀμίκτοις ὀσμαί τινες πρὸς ἃς συνεργεῖν πειρῶνται καὶ ταῖς παραίσκευαῖς, ὡς καὶ πρὸς τὰς τῶν χυμῶν εὐστομίας. οὐ μὴν ἀλλ᾿ ὥς γ᾿ ἀπλῶς [*](¹ cf. H.P. 1. 11. 2.) [*](2 i.e. the berry: Sch. would read ἀρκευθίς. cf. H.P. 3. 12. 4, with which this statement is inconsistent. Sch. suggests punctuating—γλυκὺ ὄν. καὶ εἰ μή πανταχοῦ ἀλλ᾿ ἐνιαχοῦ καὶ ἡ ἄρκευθος κ.τ.λ. 3 καὶ φυτοῖς om. Turn.) [*](⁴ αἷς I omit; ᾗ καὶ τὂ εὐ. conj. Turn.)

Ἐκ δυοῖν γὰρ τούτων καὶ ἡ τῶν χυλῶν καὶ τῶν ὀσμῶν γένεσις· ὡς μὲν οἱ τὰ ἀρώματα καὶ τὰ διαπάσματα συντιθέντες ξηροῖς πρὸς ξηρά· ὡς δ᾿ οἱ τὰ μύρα κεραννύντες ἢ τῷ οἴνῳ ἐπιχέοντες ὑγροῖς πρὸς ὑγρά. τὸ δὲ τρίτον, ὃ καὶ πλεῖστόν ἐστιν, ὡς οἱ μυρεψοὶ ξηροῖς πρὸς ὑγρά· παντὸς γὰρ μύρου καὶ χρίσματος ἡ σύνθεσις αὕτη. δεῖ δ᾿ εἰδέναι ποῖαι ποίοις εὔμικτοι καὶ ποῖαι ποίοις συνεργοῦσιν εἰς τὸ ποιεῖν μίαν ὥσπερ ἐπὶ τῶν χυμῶν. καὶ γὰρ ἐκεῖ ταὐτὸ τοῦτο ζητοῦσιν οἱ μιγνύντες καὶ οἶον ἀρτύοντες. ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ἐν οἷς καὶ δι᾿ ὧν αἱ τέχναι ποιοῦνται τὰ τέλη.